Well, the Democrats did a lot better than many people thought they would, and
then most polls suggested they would, in the midterm elections, holding on to
the U.S. Senate and only losing a very narrow majority to the Republicans in the
House of Representatives. They even gained governorships, which is almost
unheard of in midterm elections, and liberals carried the day on statewide ballot
measures across the country on abortion, marijuana legalization, and other
issues. We said all along this election would come down to turnout, and one of
the demographic groups that turned out in droves for the Democrats was the
the youth vote, including first-time voters under the age of 30.
For more on this, KCBS Radio political reporter and host of The State
of California, Doug Sovern spoke with Abby Kiesa, Deputy Director of CIRCLE, the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement, at Tufts University, it is one of the foremost organizations in the country studying the youth vote.
